‘Celtic Spirit’ soars once again in Colorado Springs
On Thursday, March 12, 2020, fiddler Eileen Ivers was on stage in a mostly empty Pikes Peak Center, prepping for a rehearsal with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and, the following evening, the first of two performances of Celtic Spirit before near sell-out crowds.
As she and her band were going through a sound check, however, someone in the wings pulled Ivers to the side and delivered the news. The show was canceled and the tour was on hold.
“That was the moment everything got crazy. We couldn’t safely continue. Everything had to shut down,” she said.
More than two and a half years later after the pandemic brought a long pause to the performance of live music and arts, and of Celtic Spirit, Ivers and her band return to the Springs to finish what they (almost) started.
“Just to get back to that same stage that we had to leave in 2020, it’s just a full circle kind of moment,” said Ivers.
Dubbed the “Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by the New York Times, Ivers is a first generation Irish American who discovered her love of music at a young age, inspired by her parents deep-rooted heritage and its traditional sounds.
The Grammy-winning Ivers has recorded more than 80 albums and contributed to Hollywood movie scores, including “Gangs of New York.” For three years, she was a performer with Riverdance, the ground-breaking and -stomping tour de force that’s still going strong after more than a quarter century.
For the two days of shows in the Springs, Ivers will be joined by three members of her band, a symphony orchestra and the award-winning Wick Irish School of Dance in Denver. The show is a musical journey through the Irish experience, in the Old World and the New, and an exploration of the new traditions it helped inspire in its new home, she said.
“As far as the music, we have material that is centuries old, traditional Irish music, juxtaposed with newly composed tunes that I have written in the tradition… and some of the big orchestral pieces,” said Ivers, who was born in New Jersey, and spends her time – when not on tour – in New York’s Hudson Valley and in Ireland. “It’s a rich and dynamic performance of different tunes and themes.”
Celtic Spirit is not only a dynamic, clap-and-stomp-along fete of traditional music, but a celebration of the fact that everyone can once again enjoy it live, Ivers said.
“It was such a stark reality of where we were with empty theaters. Now with music and the performing arts, it’s open again,” said Ivers. “I think how much we all need it in our society, to be moved by the arts, to be uplifted by the arts, in person, and together.”
What: Celtic Spirit, Eileen Ivers with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Pops
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.
Info and tickets: pikespeakcenter.com
Eileen Ivers cutline here here here
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